Category
Opinion
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10.29.08Prizes to Change the WorldEveryone knows water is a problem. Everyone knows smoking is a problem. Everyone knows cancer is a problem. Everyone knows fossil fuels are a problem. The true grand challenges facing humanity are not obvious today. Here are some different ideas for large cash prizes that might just change the world... Prize 1: Food / Nourishment The entire system of food has not substantially advanced since the evolution of agriculture and herding. Our inherited digestive preferences, our foods, and our consumption patterns hinder our cultural evolution, strain the resources of the planet, and limit our ability to explore space. It is time that ...
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10.27.08Speaking at TMT.Ventures`08 in Zagreb, CroatiaOn Tuesday, October 27th, I will be speaking at TMT.Ventures`08 in Zagreb, Croatia. The start time is 4:00 PM locally / 7:00 AM PST. They may even be broadcasting from the conference site here.
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10.20.08Why I Did Games.Crayon Physics - Not out yet, but looks awesome.
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10.19.08The Tesla Roadster… RocksWhile I was in Los Angeles to attend the X PRIZE Board meeting, I had the Tesla Motors Roadster #1 on loan for 36 hours. While at an X PRIZE Board dinner, a few of the other Board members had the first opportunity to test drive the car, which was caught on video-phone by Sira Lazar below. Driving the Tesla Motors Roadster is truly an amazing experience. It's silent, fast, and punchy. Most of the other drivers that night described the experience like driving a go kart, except is goes A LOT faster.
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10.12.08Sell Your StocksA lot of my friends view the current state of the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 8,451 as a great opportunity to buy. And, it may be. But, I do not share that view. Here is why... Not only are buyers of stocks conspicuously absent, but much of the selling is forced. "Off a Cliff," The Economist Stock markets are based on fundamentals when they operate rationally. Today, fundamentals are irrelevant. Stocks are trading on the ratio of buyers to sellers, and sellers far outweigh buyers with no tipping point in the foreseeable future. Where might the needed buying power come from? First, the ...
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10.11.08The Seminal IPO TheoryMore to come...
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09.15.08Banks Fall, Start-ups RiseThere is a bubble in the start-up world today because new companies are creating real economic value. This differs sharply from the 2000-era hype machine, though there is definitely some hype today as well. Just look at my speaking schedule. Reality outside of the world of start-ups is getting fairly ugly. Major businesses, like GM, are firing smart people. Small businesses can't survive. More and more people are joining the un-insured, and someone is going to need to pay the price for all of this. Internet usage will grow dramatically during this downturn, as people look for stuff to do. Monetization will ...
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09.08.08SPOREDownloaded and installed SPORE on a Vista macine earlier today. The whole process took about 90 minutes. To be clear, SPORE is by far the best game that I have played in years. The leveling, or "stages," are incredibly well thought out. Just as you are getting bored, new stuff appears and then you level up. Even though the stages may have a simplistic game mechanic, such as the well reported PacMan-esque approach of the primordial soup, they are sufficiently interesting to keep you engaged. Based on my game play so far, there are clearly VERY many ways to "skin the cat" - cooperative, collaborative, ...
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09.06.08Freestyle SchedulingAll of the time that it takes to schedule things end up being a significant amount of the time that you end up doing things. Here are my new "freestyle scheduling" rules: Calling 1: No scheduling of one-to-one calls. Feel free to call me. Calling 2: Schedule calls of more than two people only if necessary, and the initiator sends at least three time options when making a request. Meeting 1: My business meetings cluster around lunchtime, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. If you want to meet for serious advice, offer a three alternative days to do lunch on University in Palo ...
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09.01.08Lenovo, You Build Crap.You know that it is bad when your bug-laden iPhone 3G provides a far superior computing experience than your $3,000 top-of-the-line Lenovo X61 Tablet with touch screen functionality. Initially, the X61 struck me as a giant iPhone. Now, it appears to be a gilded paperweight. It's sad to see the once venerable brand of ThinkPad laptops sink to the level of plastic blinky rings bearing the same "Made in China" markings. Outside of the fact that the machine itself with top installed RAM, CPU, and hard drive specifications simply can not run Vista, it suffers from a cheapness, poor quality, and ...
recent posts
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My Events- TheFunded.com
- Amadeus Capital Partners: Missing Partner: Will Dawson
- TheFunded.com Discussion: Setting CEO Salary
- TheFunded.com Discussion: VC's Interested in Wellness\Prevention?
- General Catalyst: Constantly Spamming Us....
- TheFunded.com Discussion: Start Ups Grumble about Directors Too Busy to Help
- TheFunded.com Discussion: Etiquette & Logistics of Selling Founders Stock at Series a Round?
- Merus: No Nonsense Attitude, More Than Just Money
- TheFunded.com Advice: 6 Reasons for Bootstrapping Before Accepting VC Money
- TheFunded.com Discussion: Stock Options Vesting Based on Milestones, Not Calendar Months
- TheFunded.com Discussion: Sold the Company, Time to Look for a Job.